ID:193969
 Sep 9 2001, 3:25 pm
|
|
When you log into a game, especially RPGs or adventure games or anything with a world to explore, what kind of things are you expecting to be able to do when you log on? I'm curious because there are so many people who log in and ask what to do. If they later find out there is no combat, they log out. I'm just curious what I could put into a world-to-explore game that would keep people entertained besides combat...
| |
Naturally, the only way to strain out the idiots you don't want in your game anyway is to leave out the combat system for a while.
| |
Foomer wrote:
I'm just curious what I could put into a world-to-explore game that would keep people entertained besides combat... Well I guess I'd point to a couple of the most popular games in history (yes I use popular games as reference frequently, not because I think only popular games are good, but because I'm always working to disprove the idea that only combat/FPS games are popular): RollerCoaster Tycoon and The Sims. In both cases what you get is the immediate ability to start building up and personalizing your environment. If people can't have combat, then they tend to want very obvious ways to control their environment (or they want pretty shapes...ala Tetris and Shapeshifter...) If the ways that you can interact with your environment are not obvious and compelling right away, then you will lose most of your potential audience. Most people don't feel like wandering around trying to figure out what to do in a strange game unless they know there is a really compelling reason to be there. So even if you aren't doing a Sims-like game, make sure that you grab them by the lapel early. Have an NPC attach himself and start jabbering away...have a couple of nearby NPCs have an argument and one of them runs off screaming, then the other comes over to the player to justify her side of the argument...anything that will make them want to see what comes next before they have time to get bored. | |
Heh, one Tanks subscriber seems content to build massive fortresses in his private lagless Tanks world. Considering that building in Tanks is just a matter of Wall or Not Wall with little distinction in wall types, I think that a game with lots of variety in building would endlessly entrance him.
A seige style game would be interesting. The defenders get to build a castle with various defenses while the attackers build war machines. After the initial build phase is over, the attackers units try to breach the castle. Each unit may continue to build things, or operate war machines. If the attackers force their way into the innermost defenses, they win. The Defenders win if they hold out until reinforcements arrive. Ok... it's combat but at least it's a little different than "click click click click dead" People love to build things, but the building has to have some meaning. A lego blocks game won't hold my interest for very long, because the building is just a lump of blocks that doesn't mean anything. Railroad building and other sim games that let you build toward a purpose are pretty fun. I have a game called Iron Dragon from Mayfair Games that would be terrific translated onto BYOND. | |
A seige style game would be interesting. The defenders get to build a castle with various defenses while the attackers build war machines. After the initial build phase is over, the attackers units try to breach the castle. Each unit may continue to build things, or operate war machines. If the attackers force their way into the innermost defenses, they win. The Defenders win if they hold out until reinforcements arrive. Ok... it's combat but at least it's a little different than "click click click click dead" Shhhhhh! That's my idea! | |
Things I would normally expect in an RPG-type game: 1) Cheap food and weapons in town, with more expensive ones to grab later. 2) Combat (of course) 3) NPC interaction. 4) Places to explore, with surprises to be found. 3 and 4 are often overlooked. I'll give you an example.
Probably my favorite game of all time was Interplay's Lord of the Rings. It didn't stray too far from the book as to be embarrassing, but it went far enough to allow for surprises and had a very nonlinear gameplay; most puzzles had 2 or 3 possible solutions, and the story had lots of branches where you could get into different adventures by choosing one path over another. Lord of the Rings had a decent combat system, so it satisfied 1 and 2, but where it really shone was: 4) You could find useful items by checking out houses, or find herbs by walking around in the open. 3) You could talk to the NPCs and ask them questions. Often they would have some sort of puzzle (the usual "I need to find..." or "Do me a favor" type) in which you could gain more information. You could query them with something like "news" (to get the latest scoop) or with people's names; the NPCs responded to keywords and would tell you different things, and sometimes what you said might even trigger them to become recruitable or to attack you. Some RPGs are more combat-oriented, but I think RPGs in general are more fun when the NPCs form a separate puzzle base to the gameplay. In LOTR, it took considerable time just to get out of the Shire, and it was worth every moment. (Another example of nonlinear play: There were two ways out of the Shire, one by the Old Forest and one by the main road.) The puzzles consisted of things like helping a child find a lost dog, searching for a key to the Old Forest gate, fighting off wolves in the woods, and so on. Right now the best RPG I've seen in BYOND so far is DragonWarrior Online, but there are three places I find it lacking so far: 1) Monsters and challenges become exponentially, not incrementally harder, while attack/defense improvements by leveling are incremental, but take more and more experience to gain without enough mid-level monsters to gain it. 2) The NPCs offer clues but no interaction, and there are no puzzles to solve with them. (This is a gameplay choice, however; some RPGs just prefer not to include puzzles.) 3) There are no surprise items to find by exploring--this is particularly frustrating in DWO because there are lots of places to explore. Lummox JR | |
Right now the best RPG I've seen in BYOND so far is DragonWarrior Online, but there are three places I find it lacking so far: 1) Monsters and challenges become exponentially, not incrementally harder, while attack/defense improvements by leveling are incremental, but take more and more experience to gain without enough mid-level monsters to gain it. 2) The NPCs offer clues but no interaction, and there are no puzzles to solve with them. (This is a gameplay choice, however; some RPGs just prefer not to include puzzles.) 3) There are no surprise items to find by exploring--this is particularly frustrating in DWO because there are lots of places to explore. Well, that and the fact that most higher-level players are more inclined to beat you up than make your play more enjoyable. Mostly the problem with storyline RPGs is that they don't work online! If I saw one that did without forcing all player's into a party, I would be impressed. | |
People love to build things, but the building has to have some meaning. Maybe I should scrap work on Ensya and just make a immitation game of Monster World: The Pets, with better graphics and smooth terrain. Then people wouldn't be so annoyed at playing a smiley. | |
Foomer wrote:
Maybe I should scrap work on Ensya and just make a immitation game of Monster World: The Pets, with better graphics and smooth terrain. Then people wouldn't be so annoyed at playing a smiley. I don't mind playing as a smiley at all ;) | |
Foomer wrote:
People love to build things, but the building has to have some meaning. If they complain, you should demote them to playing a frowny face. That'll learn 'em. | |
Weirdo: how do i fight?
Lord Nebathemonk: you can't yet, not done
Weirdo: then what do i do?!
Lord Nebathemonk: well, there is lots of stuff to do...
Weirdo left the battle!
Lord Nebathemonk: you can collect resources and recuirt army and talk to animals
Lord Nebathemonk: oh... he left.. >:|
that *almost* same conversation has happened to me at least 18 times.